St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-03-05

hehtous destination, and yet how many 0
US SIT down as though we had consum
mated our Journey, as though we hat
| come 10 the final depot, when stoppjnt
mere IS as compared with our stoppin.
there as is twenty minutes to twelve hours
yea, as the one-hundredth part of a sec
| ono compared with ten thousand mi llior
yearsa Would Spain sell US Cuba for :
bushel of wheat! Would England sell US
India for Ton Of coal! Would Venice sell
US all her pictures for an American
school-boy's sketch3 Ahl that would be &
better bargain for England, Spain and
Venice than that man makes who gives his
| eternity for time.
But where is Cree sus and Cleopatra.
and Aesopas, who had one dish of food
that cost Fl, 100000; and Lentulus. who
had pound of food worth $l75, 900; and
Scaurus. who bought country seat for
s29, Oo00O0; and Tiberius, who left at death
fortune of Sl1S, 900! Where are they!
IT windy day should blow all the dust
that is left of them into your eyes it would
not make you wink twice. All, my friends.
then very certainly your comforts of sur
rounding can not keep back the old
archer. You can not charm him with
music, or dazzle him with plate, or decoy
him with pictures, or bride him with your
money.
What is the use of struggling for that
which you can not keep? AS long as you
have clothes and food and shelter, and
education for yourselves and your chill
dren, and the means for Christian gen
crosby, be satisfied. You worry. and
tug, and sweat, and wear yourself out for
that which can not satisfy: whole flocSs
of crows feet on your temples and cheeks
before they ought to have come there
You are ten years older than you ought tc
be, and yet you can not take along with
you int the future world even the two
pennies on your eyelids to keep them shut
after you are dead. And yet you hold on
to this world with the avidity of the mser
who persisted in having his bonds and
mortgages and notes of hand in the bosom
OF his dressing gown while he was dying.
and in the last moment held his parch-
ment in such tight grip that the under
taker after death must almost break the
mans fingers in order to get the bonds
away.
Men are actually making that choice,
while there are others who have done far
differently. When they tried to bride
with money Martin Luther some one said:
There's no use trying to do that-that
Dutch beast cares nothing for gold"
When they tried by giving him cardin.
ais hat to bride Savonarola, he stood up
in his pulpit and cried out:
II will have no red hat, save that of
martyrdom colored with my own blood"
These men chose Christ amid great per
secutions; but how many there are in this
day, when Christianity seems to be popu
lar, who are ashamed of Christ and not
willing to take the hardshps-the seem
ing hardships-of his religion! And alas
for them! for long after the crash of the
worlds demolition they shall find that in ali
these years they were turning their backs
upon the palaces of Heaven, scrabbling
on the door of this worlds treasure house,
the saliva Of terrific lunacy on their lips
horribly and overwhelmingly playing
the fool.
Once more say to you that those men
play the fool who, while they admit the
Of religion, set it down for
future attendance. Do you know how
many times the word now occurs in the
Bible9 Over 200 times. One of the short
est words in the Bible, and yet one of the
grandest in meaning and ramifcations.
When does the Bible say is the best time
that God will forgive? Now. When does
God say is the only safe time to attend to
matters of the soul! Now. But that word
"now'' melts away as easily as a snow
flake in the evening rain. Where is the
''now" of the dead of last year! the 'now''
of the dead Of last month"; the ''now'' of
the dead of last week! t he ''now'' of the
dead of yesterday! Time picked it up in
TO hoo ND Aa1r
greet you to-day, my brother in the
very gate of eternity. Some of US may
live longer, and some of US may live
shorter, time; but, at the longest, life is
so short that l feel we all stand on the
door-sill of the great future. The next
the angels of God can not undo
the consequences. Will your exit from
this life be a rising or falhngs The
righteous go up The Saviour helps them.
spirits meet them. The doors
of paradise open to receive them Up!
up! upl o, what grand thing it is tc
die with a strong faith in God, like that
which Stonewall Jackson had when, in his
moments, he said:
'Let US cross over the river, and lie
down under the shade.n
But to leave this world unpreparedly is
falling-falling from God, falling from
hope, falling from peace, falling from
falling, wildly falling,
forever falling.
Awake, mani awake, woman! from the
phantasia, real or affected. Take Christ.
Escape for eternity. Just see what has
been done for you. Lift the thorny cap
from the brow of Jesus, and see the price
that was paid for your liberation. Look
at the side, and see where the spear went
in and moved round and round, amid
broken arteries, the blood rushing forth
in awful sacrifice for your sins. 0, wrap
those bare and mutilated feet of the dying
Lor d in your womanly lap, for they were
torn in hard tramp for your soul! o,
for tears to weep over this laceration of
Christi o, for a broken heart to worship
him! o, for an omnipot ent impulse strong
enough to throw this whole audience
down at the feet of crucifed and
risen Jesus! We must repent. We
must believe. We must be saved can